The Guiding Light
by Shunyata Ryuen
Summary: The mikos have vanished. Now, despite their own personal emnities, the Suzaku seishi must join forces with the Seiryuu...and work to save the lives of their mikos...and the entire world. An AU-fic in-progress.
1. The Guiding Light - Prologue

DISCLAIMER: Fushigi Yuugi and all its characters are the property of someone else...who is, unfortunately, not me.  
  
"The Guiding Light"  
by Ryuen  
  
---  
  
~ p r o l o g u e ~  
  
Suzaku no Miko, Yuuki Miaka...has vanished.   
  
Her bed is empty, her clothing lying in scattered piles on the floor, her bag--and precious snacks--left resting quietly against the wall, as if waiting patiently for her return. There is no sign of forced entry in her room, and not even the slightest indication that the girl might've been spirited away under the guidance of some powerful enemy...there is simply no sign of her, and no possible way of determining where she's gone.   
  
Konan is in distress, the seishi in shambles. What's become of their miko??  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
Some distance away, in the war-torn land of Kutou...a heavy fist slams onto the smooth surface of a table, splinters the wood with an ease befitting the emperor's prized shogun.   
  
The reason for Nakago's anger is simple. Seiryuu no Miko, Hongo Yui...has vanished.  
  
He sensed no enemy chi, never even had the slightest idea that the girl might be in trouble...and yet, inexplicably...she is gone.   
  
*-*-*-*-*  
  
Now, with the guidance of the enigmatic Taiitsu-kun and nothing but their own gifts and strengths to assist them, the Suzaku shichiseishi will join forces with the Seiryuu shichiseishi, and begin what will become the most difficult, dangerous journey they've ever had the bad fortune to encounter. Unless they can put aside their differences and work together, Miaka and Yui are doomed...and so is the world.  
  
Time is already running out.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*AN: Muwahahaha, wasn't that dramatic?? ^_^. *ahem* Anyway. :) I'm starting work on this ficcie now...can't wait to write it. I've had the idea for it in my head for about a month now, but I've only just now gotten the inspiration to start it. Anyway...let me know what you think of the concept, and hopefully I'll have the first "real" chapter up shortly. Ja! -Ryuen  



	2. The Guiding Light - Chapter I - Suzaku P...

"The Guiding Light"   
Chapter I: Suzaku Prelude  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
[Despite my powers, I'm afraid I have no idea where the mikos may've been taken. The only advice I can give you is this: If you don't work together, you will never find them. That's not my opinion--that's truth. I sense a great evil gathering in the distant mountains, and a vast darkness washing over the land. If you don't find the mikos soon, I fear for this world. So, hurry. Head for the mountains--but, don't move as one group. Fourteen young warriors with supernatural strength and a great hatred for each other is much too obvious. Split up into small groups, with at least one Seiryuu and Suzaku warrior to each. Match yourselves as evenly as possible, and keep close watch on your companions--but, you must work together, and you must keep as many of your number alive as possible. Without the strength of all fourteen constellations, this evil may triumph, and the mikos--and the world--will be lost. So, hurry. And may the light of Suzaku--and Seiryuu--guide your way.]  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
"Ne, Hotohori-sama, have you seen--" Nuriko broke off, one slim hand resting lightly against the doorjamb...and felt his heart begin to thud heavily in his chest. For a long moment he stood there, mesmerized and speechless, unable to do anything but stare, and then, abruptly, he remembered himself, blushed a fierce red and ducked his head. "Gomen ne, Hotohori-sama. I didn't realize you were...busy."  
  
The young emperor--the sweat shining in tiny beads over the taut, muscled flesh of his chest and stomach--took a moment to finish the last movement of his exercises, then let out a short breath, lowered the sword so the tip brushed against the plush carpeting. Taking a moment to brush the thick strands of chestnut from his eyes, the young emperor turned, faced his visitor with a slight, wearied smile on his face. "Iie, don't apologize." He took a few steps forward, grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and dabbed at his face with it. "Gomen. What did you want?"  
  
Hotohori's slim fingers moved with hypnotic grace, sponging at the soft trickles of sweat, sweeping back and forth over the smooth skin. Back and forth...back and forth... Suddenly realizing he'd been asked a question, Nuriko snapped from his mesmerized reverie, cleared his throat lightly. "Ano...I wondered if you'd seen Chichiri around anywhere."  
  
The young emperor sank wearily into the chair, tossed the now-sheathed sword in the general direction of the bed. The towel still dangled lightly from his fingers, the soft white fabric wrinkled and moist with sweat. "Chichiri," Hotohori said slowly, as if testing the word. Suddenly, he straightened. "Ah--hai. He said earlier that he was going to the pond."  
  
Nuriko raised an eyebrow, the emperor's impressive musclature momentarily forgotten. "The pond?"  
  
"Hai. I think Tasuki's with him." He paused for a moment, seemed to be contemplating something, then let out a soft breath and relaxed a bit in his chair. "Ne, Nuriko?"  
  
The violet-haired seishi blinked, watching with a bit of interest as Hotohori closed his eyes lightly, rested a slim-fingered hand over his forhead. "Nani, Hotohori-sama?"  
  
The eyes stayed safely closed. "How is Tamahome?"  
  
"Tamahome? He's--" He stopped himself, having just about to say, 'He's fine,' and let out a soft breath of air.   
Tamahome was, to put it quite bluntly, anything but fine. While Miaka's three-month-disappearance had been hard on him, to have the girl suddenly vanish like this, to know she was in danger but out of his reach--gods, it was killing him. Looking back on the last two days, Nuriko couldn't remember Tamahome having said more than a few sentences--and most of them had begun with "Miaka."   
But...to tell Hotohori-sama that? Of course, surely he'd already realized that Tamahome and Miaka were in love, that there wasn't much hope for him at all in that area--but, to say it so openly? What would it do to him? But, at the same time, he knew he couldn't lie... Gaaaah. He resisted the urge to let out a soft cry of frustration, and found himself wondering again just why he hadn't come to Mitsukake or Chiriko instead.  
  
He sighed. No, he knew the answer to that.   
  
He'd come here because this was the only place he'd _wanted_ to come to; and the only man he'd truly wanted to see. Did he even need to see Chichiri all that badly, or did he just need an excuse to see Hotohori-sama? Gah, what a mess...  
  
Suddenly realizing that the young emperor was still waiting for a response, Nuriko bowed his head slightly, took a short, respectful step back out onto the palace walkway. "Tamahome is...as well as can be expected," he replied at last.  
  
Hotohori knew, though. No matter how careful his phrasing, no matter how subtle his insinuations, Hotohori knew. "I see," the young emperor said softly. He sat in silence for a moment longer, looking as if he were in deep thought, and Nuriko almost excused himself and left--but, then Hotohori's head lifted. The young emperor stared at him with a soft, pained look in his eyes that ripped at his heart. "Will he be ready to travel by this evening?"  
  
Ahhh, the sadness in those eyes! "H-Hai," he managed, an ache beginning in the bottom of his heart, spiralling outwards with each soft word, each gentle tone. Naaaa, poor Hotohori-sama! "He'll be ready."  
  
Hotohori nodded, and somehow, it felt like a dismissal. "Good," he said firmly. "Arrigato, Nuriko."  
  
And that--despite how desperately he wanted to stay here, talk with Hotohori-sama, comfort him--was his cue to leave.   
Gods, he wanted to stay!! But, he left, anyway. Besides, he really _did_ need to speak to Chichiri, and now might be his only chance to do so before--he winced inwardly--the Seiryuu seishi arrived to begin the journey. Shivering slightly as a cool morning breeze lifted from the gardens, Nuriko set off for the far-off glimmer of the pond, leaving Hotohori alone in his chambers. Despite the tiny strings dragging at his heart, he did not look back. After awhile, he passed beyond sight of the emperor's chambers altogether and stepped out onto the grass, started off down the hill.   
  
*~*~*~ 


	3. The Guiding Light - Chapter II - Seiryuu...

*~*~*~   
"The Guiding Light"   
Chapter 2: Seiryuu Prelude  
*-*-*-*-*  
He awoke early, as always.   
  
There was comfort in routine, comfort in knowing that he was in control of his life and his destiny, even if it began with something as mundane as waking up in the morning. Routine: the savior of the stupid and the damned.   
  
Routine drove him from the warmth of his bed, guided him to the wash basin on the bureau that was just beginning to grow warm and golden with sunlight. For a moment, he stood there before the bowl, shirtless and shivering and bleary-eyed, and stared down at his reflection in the water. As a rule, he tried to avoid mirrors, tried to avoid being distracted by views of his own image, but now he stared down at himself in an almost helpless kind of fascination. Breath trickled from his lips, sent the image wavering lightly from side to side, but he barely noticed.  
  
Tangles of hair, rich and yellow as the sun, swept down over his bare shoulders, whispered against flesh that had been irrevocably scarred, and yet bore no mark. The skin itself was smooth and deceptively-soft, drawn together into a long, triangular jaw, then into a slim neck that spoke of elegance and refinement, but bore, also, the muscle and sheer strength of a warrior. And, then, there were the eyes. Gods. He remembered, all too clearly, a time when those eyes had been as blue and bright as the autumn sky. Thy'd been filled with such innocence, then; wide and bright and unendurably naive. Now, though, they were cold and pale and empty--the blue had darkened into night, and there would be no dawn.  
  
Had he truly changed so much?   
  
He came back to himself with those words, remembered that there were things he needed to deal with today, things that needed to be settled and mended; strange alliances that needed to be forged. With Yui-sama missing, there would be no chance of calling Seiryuu, no chance of winning this silent war against Konan, Hokkan, Sailo. Until she was found, he would always be the weak little boy who wept for the loss of his mother, would always be helpless and wide-eyed and afraid.  
  
Drawing in a deep breath of stale air, Nakago swept the blond tangles over his shoulders, closed his eyes, and plunged his face into the water. The reflection shattered beneath him, and the soft child's voice within his mind was finally silent.  
  
---  
  
"Nakago-sama." A light knock on his chamber door; a soft, mewing voice trickling through the wood.   
  
Dabbing the last remnants of moisture from his cheeks with a towel, the shogun strode across the sparsely-decorated room, stretched a hand to the door. The knob twisted in his fingers, then, and he tugged it towards him.  
  
"Hai," he said tonelessly.  
  
Tomo bowed his head slightly, sending a wash of feathers fluttering down over his shoulders. The headress shifted backwards as he rose, then, and the blond shogun couldn't help but notice that the younger man's face, usually immaculately-painted with blends of primary colors, was startlingly-bare.  
  
"Nakago-sama," Tomo repeated formally. His eyes were slits, strangely dark in the absence of their usual black background. "The messenger arrived a few minutes ago from the border. Emperor Seishuku Saihitei, the Suzaku shichiseishi Hotohori, has sent word that they await our presence at the imperial palace of Konan." He broke from formal speech, then, and gazed out at the taller man with dark, shrewd eyes. "How can we be certain that this isn't some kind of ruse to lure us into their grasp? If they are the ones who took the Seiryuu no Miko--"  
  
"Then, they have no need of us," Nakago said in a low voice. "Besides." His lips bent into a thin smile. "I think you overestimate them. I doubt they would be cunning enough to think of a ruse of this magnitude, much less carry it out. Have the horses been readied?"  
  
Tomo bowed his head. "Hai."  
  
"Good. Send word to the others."  
  
The man hesitated, slender, nailed fingers tangling together in front of him.  
  
Nakago frowned, said nothing, and waited. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, his patience was rewarded.  
  
"Nakago-sama," Tomo said, eyes cast at the ground, "I caught a glimpse of his chi, early this morning during my meditations."  
  
The blond shogun drew in a startled breath, eyes widening only just noticeably...and, then, he exhaled, nodded slightly. "Just as well," he said. "Where is he?"  
  
"I'm not certain. But...if you wish, Nakago-sama, I can find out."  
  
"Very well. Do so."  
  
His words were calm, as smooth and emotionless as ever, but inside, something bright and unfamiliar had taken hold of his heart. Was it...hope? So. Amiboshi, despite his brother's instincts and his own attempts at locating him, was alive. Which meant, of course--the breath seemed to catch in his lungs--that, once Yui-sama was returned to them, they could summon Seiryuu, defeat the other countries...make him into a god.  
  
He closed his eyes, fully aware of Tomo's gaze but choosing to ignore it, and let himself relish in the possibilities for a moment. At last. Revenge. Revenge, on the sky that had betrayed him... The words were sweet on his tongue, warm as a soothing hand in his mind. Revenge. And, sweet, sweet justice.  
  
When he opened his eyes several moments later, Tomo had gone. Just as well, he supposed.  
  
The taste of victory still warm as blood on his lips, Nakago took a long step back into his room, closed the door, and moved to the bureau. He saw, as he bent towards the drawers, that he was smiling.  
  
---  
  
AN: Yes, yes, I know. I've professed, on more than one occasion, to feeling less than fondly towards this fic. But, eh, I was pecking through my fics today, and it looked so lonely here with its measly two chapters... Anyway, I'm going to give it another try. And, if it fails, well, at least I tried, ne? And, if it doesn't...well, more power to me. -_-;;; Hm. I think I need caffeine. Yes. Definitely. *flits off* 


End file.
